Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Libertarian Party warns: Cut Sessions short

Libertarian Party warns:
Cut Sessions short

For immediate releaseJanuary 10, 2017

Sen. Jeff Sessions

The Libertarian Party warns U.S. senators to quickly reject the
nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions for the position of attorney general.
“Jeff Sessions is preposterously unfit for the highest
law-enforcement position in the land,” said Nicholas Sarwark, chair of
the Libertarian National Committee. “For one, he’s an unyielding Drug
Warrior in a war that the U.S. government is losing and in which
lawmakers need to surrender to common sense.”
Sessions is among a dying breed of Nancy Reagan-inspired “tough
on drugs” lawmakers who deny the truths about drug prohibition that are
now obvious to most Americans:

Marijuana is a relatively mild drug with far fewer harmful effects than alcohol.

Drug warfare drives up crime which endangers Americans and terrorizes the people of supplier countries, such as Mexico.

The demand for drugs remains unabated under prohibition.
One-third of Americans have used marijuana, and despite strict penalties
against narcotics, heroin use is an epidemic that now kills more
Americans every year than do automobiles and homicide, combined.

As a grassroots movement to legalize marijuana sweeps the
country, Sessions wants to enforce federal prohibition laws in the eight
states that have legalized recreational marijuana.
“Sessions is terrible when it comes to civil liberties,” notes
Sarwark. “He wants a bigger U.S. government spy apparatus that snoops on
Americans’ e-mails. He wants police officers to continue to steal
Americans’ stuff through civil asset forfeiture. He advocates for
discrimination based on religious beliefs, in violation of the
Constitution.
“Sessions is also a war hawk, and there’s a high risk that he
would be Trump’s lap dog for justifying torture by the U.S. military, as
did Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for the Bush administration.”
Libertarians enjoy growing support from millennials, who are
claiming a larger block of the American vote and who are helping more
and more Libertarian candidates beat the margin of victory in top-ticket
races. Libertarian Joe Miller for U.S. Senate in Alaska won 29 percent
of the vote in the November election, coming in second, ahead of the
Democrat.
“We’ll be running Libertarians for U.S. Senate in upcoming
elections,” Sarwark warned. “There will be a price to pay for any
senator who confirms Sessions for attorney general.”
Americans cast almost 20 million votes for Libertarian
candidates in the 2016 general election. The Libertarian presidential
candidate, Gov. Gary Johnson, appeared on the ballot in all fifty
states, plus the District of Columbia.